Aeroplane



March 2, 1937;

c. N. PYOGUE AEROPLANE Filed March 2, 1935 a Sheets-Sheet 1 3mm Char/e5 M W March 1937,

AEROPLANE Filed March 2. '1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 'March 2, 1937.

C. N. POGUE AEROPLANE Filed March 2, 1935.

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 a vwa/wbw Clear/es Mfogwe,

Patented Mar. 2,- 1937 g i UNlTEDfSTATES PATENT OFFICE Charles Nelson Pogue, Norwood, Winncpeg, Manitoba, Canada Application March 2, 1935, Serial No. 9,090

. 2 Claims. (Cl. 244-50) 1 This invention relates to aeroplanes, and parmally caused by the inertia of the wheels as they ticularly to means for facilitating the taking ofi strike the ground. If the wheels are being driven and landing of aeroplanes. at a rate such that their peripheral speed is ap- One of the drawbacks to a greater commercial proximately the same as the speed of the aero- 5 development of the aviation industry has been plane there will be substantially no inertia when 5 the inability of aeroplanes to take off from the the wheels touch the ground and, with all other ground and land in a relatively small space. A things being equal, a much smoother landing will ground speed of approximately sixty miles per result. hour is necessary before it is safe for the pilot The present invention also permits the means to attempt to lift the plane into the air. If the for transmittin p w r r m t in to th 10 aeroplane is a heavy one or if it carries a subwheels to be utilized to check the speed of the stantial load, a long run on the ground is necesaeroplane after it a d a thereby e sary in order to attain such a minimum ground les h a plan to me to a s p with n a speed. Such long ground runs necessitate large much shorter distance. If, just after the plane fields, which in many instances has caused airtouches the ground, the pilot cuts ofi the engine 15 ports to be located at great distances from the and l aves t e p w r t nsmit in m hanism to metropolitan areas. the wheels engaged, the wheels will transmit Also, the taking off and landing of aeroplanes power back to the engine and the compression of I in many instances is rendered dimeult b ause air in the engine cylinders will act to check the of unfavorable weather conditions, or because of Speed of e p ane in the same manner in which 20 l the condition of the ground from which the S ift n t e gears f an automobile into low aeropla i compelled t t k ff, or upon hi h gear will check its speed while going down hill. it is neces ar that ii; l The ability to apply power to each wheel inde- With the above and other considerations in Dendelltly the other, and 9150 Simultaneously mind, it is proposed by the present invention to With the pp a o Power to the p p 25 provide a landing gear for aeroplanes which facilitates the landing and taking 01f 0f the aeromay be used as a propelling and guiding means plane, in that it provides a very simple and efin the taki 011' of th eroplan and hi h iective means for steering the aeroplane while it may also be used to efiect a much smoother landis traveling on a d:

ing, and to check the speed oithe aeroplane after According to another embodiment of y 30 t; h 1 vention, the landing gear is adapted for use on More particularly, the present invention relates amphibian fi oplanes and comprises P oon t a landing gear which may b incorporated i t having independently driven tractor belts which aeroplanes during their initial construction, or enable the aeroplane to land on water or on soft which may be attached to existing aeroplanes r sw mpy land, and which, like the w r riv n 35 without necessitating extensive alterations, and Wheels above referred to, may be used for steerwhich comprises pair of landing h l r ing and as a motivating force in moving the tractors with means for applying motive power, aeroplane from one p ace to another when the preferably from the engine or engines, to each aer plane is not in the air.

40 wheel or tractor separately, so that they may The invention will be described further in con- 40 be driven either simultaneously or independently nection with the accompanying drawings, in of each other. v which: t

T "Provision of landing Wheels which l -Y Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the front be driven from the en (maples the attamportion of an aeroplane having landing wheels ment of a rislng ground Speed in a Very much and embodying the present invention.

slgrter $tarfileinglggw gig g g gggi fii g 5 2; Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of Fig. 1. si e, as e plemented the driving power of the wheels 33%;: a horizontal sect10nal view on line a ainst the ground. Such supplementary action 0% the driven ground wheels is also of use when m 4 a sectlonal VIEW on 11116 f it is deshAd to move the aeroplane from one Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view on line place to another while it is on the ground. of r v The pro r power driven ground wheels Figs. 6 and 7 are detail views of means for conalso enables the pilot to make a much smoother ing the transmission of P we to the landlanding by eliminating the bouncing action noring wheels.

Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the means for applying power to the landing wheels.

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the invention applied to an amphibian aeroplane having landing pontoons and tractor belts. Fig. is a plan view of the pontoons shown in Fig. 9, with the supporting-struts shown in sec-r tion. 1

Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view through the lower portion of one of the pontoons.

' Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional view on line l2-'-l2 of Fig. 11, and

Fig. 13 is a detail view of means for securing the lower ends of the supporting struts to the rear ends of the pontoons shown in Figs. 9 and 10.

In the drawings, an aeroplane I of usual construction and having the usual controls is driven by an engine 2, located at the front thereof; A

propeller shaft 3 is driven by the engine and pro-' trudes from the front of the fuselage and carries a propeller 4 of any desired construction on the outer. end thereof.

A relatively large driving gear 5, preferably of the friction type and having a V-shaped driving periphery, is rigidly mounted on the propeller shaft between the front end of the fuselage and the propeller 4. The gear 5 is the driving means for a pair of relatively smaller frictional gears 6 and 1 which have V-shaped driving peripheries. complementary to the V -shaped periphery of the gear 5. The gears 5, 6, and 1 preferably are made of fiber or of some tough material having frictional surfaces.

Each of the gears 6 and I is mounted upon the outer end of a mounting and driving shaft 8, which at their opposite ends transmit power through universal joints 9 tea pair of telescoping power shafts Iii and II. Self-aligning bearings 6a support the shafts 8 intermediate their lengths.

Each power shaft II has a universal joint If at its lower end through which power is transmitted to shafts ii for driving pinions. H meshing with bevel gears l5 carried by each of the ground wheels i 6 mounted on the lower ends of the usual struts IT. The usual shock absorbers l'la for the wheels l6 may be provided.

Each mounting and driving shaft 8' passes through a boxing l8 in a casing l9 having elongated openings 20 through which the shafts 6 pass. The boxings 18 are movable'within the casings Iii-to cause the gears 6 and I 'to engage or disengage with the gear 6. ,To cause movement of the boxlngs II in a direction to move the gears 6 and 1 into engagement with the gear 6,

each boxing has a curved recess 2| in its lower side to receive an elongated cam 22 rigidly mounted upon a shaft 23. The inner ends of the shafts 23 have arms 24 extending therefrom to which operating cables 26 and 26a which extend. into the cockpit 26 of the aeroplane are connected.

In the cockpit, the ends of the cables 26 and 16a are connected to the opposite ends of a rod parent that when the engine is running power may be applied to operate either or both of the ground wheels I 6 simultaneously with thepropeller.

If the pilot wants to take off and to make a straight run down the field and to use the driving power of the ground wheels to supplement the pulling power of the propeller, it is only necessary that he pull straight back on the lever 21. That applies tension simultaneously to each of the cables 25 and 25a, which through the arms 24 and shafts 23 cause the cams 22 to be rotated and to elevate the boxings l8 sufficiently to cause both of the gears 6 and I to be brought into driving engagement with the driving gear 5, which gears, in turn, transmit power through the shafts 8 and the power transmitting shafts III, II, and I3 to the wheels l6.

On the other hand, if the pilot desires to use Such movement will apply tension to the lef t cable 25 and slacken the right cable 25a with the result that the right gear I will remain disengaged from the driving gear 6, but the'left gear 6 will be lifted into driving'engagement with the driving gear 6 and power applied to drive the left ground wheel l6 while the right ground wheel will remain free. The driving force of the left ground wheel against the ground while the right wheel rotates freely, will be sufficient to cause the plane to turn towards the right. If a left turn is desired it is only necessary that the pilot rotate the lever 26 in a' clockwise direction to apply tension to the right cable 26a and to slacken the left cable 26 whereupon the right wheel will be driven while the left wheel is left free. Thus there is provided a very effective means of steering the aeroplane while. it is on the ground.

If just prior to landing the pilot applies power to the ground wheels they will attain a peripheral speed of approx mately the speed of the aero plane and they will exert no inertia when the aeroplane touches the ground which will cause bouncing of the aeroplane and a rough landing.

If Just after the wheels have touched the ground the pilot cuts off the engine the wheels will transmit powerback to the engine and the engine will thereby be used to brake the speed of the aeroplane.

In Figs. 9 to 12 inclusive the invention is shown applied 'to an aeroplane equipped with pontoons and tractor belts which permit landing either .on land or water. In these figures the aeroplane I, has an engine 2', propeller shaft 3', and propeller l','driving gear 6' and a pair of driveable gears.-

only one of which 6' is shown, the same as in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive. As in the former embodiment of the invention the driveable gears are mounted on the outer end of a shiftable mounting and driving shaft 6' which is surrounded by a boxingln a casing II. The other end ofeach oftheshaftsl' isconnectedthroughauniversal joint 6' toapower transmittingshaft II which at its lower end carries'a pinion 82 meshing with abevelgearamountedontheinnerendofa driving axle through the rear end of an upwardly inclined .pontoonil can-iedbysupportingstrutsabeneaththefuselageoftheaeroplane. Asimilar, butnou-drivenaxleflextendsthroughthefcrwardendofeachpontoontl. llcuntedoneach ofthe rearand forwardaxles 66 and I! are a which extends transversely pulleys 38 and 39 having generally V-shaped peripheries to receive correspondingly shaped tractor belts 40 of rubber or a rubber-like composition which extend around the pontoons in the direction of travel of the aeroplane.

Thestruts 36 are secured to the forward ends of the pontoons by means of a hinged connection H, while at therear ends of the pontoons slidable connections between the lower ends of the struts and the pontoons are provided so that the pontoons may assume a sub-parallel position with respect to the fuselage when the pontoons are being used to move the aeroplane in land or water, and yet may be shifted to a forwardly inclined position when the aeroplane leaves the ground, so thatwyhen the aeroplane again lands the rear portion of the pontoons will touch the ground first.

As shown in Fig. 13, the lower ends of thestruts 36 are provided with r llers 36a bearing on opposite sides of bars 361: located in recesses in the upper rear portion of the pontoons 35. Springs S and S bear against opposite sides of the lower ends of the struts 36 and normally and resiliently hold. the angular position of the po'nt'oons as shown in Fig. 9. However, when the aeroplane lands the force exerted by the rear portions of the pontoons against the ground causes the lower ends of the struts to compress the rear springs 'S' and permit the pontoons to shift to a sub-parallel position with respect to the fuselage sothat the aeroplane may be moved by means of the tractor belts while the fuselage is maintained in a sub-horizontal position.

The driving pulleys for the tractor belts are port the bottoms of the pontoons slightly'above the ground so that they will not scrape along the ground when the tractor belts are being used as a motivating force for the aeroplane.

The driveable gears for transmitting power to the tractor-belts 40 are brought into driving engagement with the driving gear 5' by means of flexible cables in the same manner as has been described in connection with the former embodiment of the invention, and the manner of using the tractor belts for steering and as a motivating force for the aeroplane, is the same as heretofore described. However, the use of the pontoons and tractor belts permits a safe landing to be made on water or on soft or swampy ground, and when such landings are necessary the tractor belts may be used to move the plane to a more desirable place.

As the ground-engaging elements may be used to exert a driving force against the ground which will supplement the pulling force of the propeller when taking off and may also be used to brake the speed of the aeroplane after it has landed, much smaller taking off and landing fields than are now necessary may be used with safety. Also, as the ground-engaging elements may be driven simultaneously with the propeller, and either ground-engaging element may be driven independently of the other, the present invention pro vides a more satisfactory manner of moving the aeroplane from one place to another when it is not in the air.

The invention has been described in connection with the two embodiments thereof shown in the drawings, but it is to be understood that they are merely used to exemplify the invention and that the same is not limited thereto exceptas may be pointed'out inthe subjoined claims.

I claim:

1. In an aeroplane, a propeller, a source of power, a propeller shaft for transmitting power from said source of power to said propeller, a

driving gear driven from said propeller shaft, a

pair of driveable gears, a driving and mounting shaft for each of said driveable gears, means for transmitting power from each of said driving and mounting shafts to one of the ground-engaging elements, and means operable by the pilot for bodily shifting said driving and mounting shafts independently of one another for causing either or both of said driveable gears to be brought into driving engagement with said driving gear, whereby either or both of said ground-engaging elements may be driven simultaneously with the propeller.

2. In an aeroplane, a propeller, a source of power, a propeller shaft for transmitting power from said source of power to said propeller, a driving gear driven from said propeller shaft, a pair of driveable gears] a driving and mounting shaft for each of said driveable gears, means for transmitting power from each of said driving and mounting shafts to one of the ground-engaging elements, a boxing for each of said driving and mounting shafts, a cam for bodily shifting each boxing to move its driving and mounting shaft into engagement with the driving gear, and an operating cable for each cam extending to the pilots cabin, whereby either or both of said ground-engaging elements may be driven simultaneously with the propeller.

CHARLES NELSON POGUE. 

